I posted this in the Flying Aces Club of FB. The Flying Aces Club is and all free flight group that has been around for a very long time: http://flyingacesclub.com/ I recently joined this group of wonderful people who actually build their airplanes and have a level of skill and craftsmanship rarely seen on the RC foam airplane scene.

In my years since I started in RC model airplanes in 1985 I have always marveled at the free flight airplane. In more recent years I have flown RC less and less although I still indulge in large scale RC gliders I have left the scene at the local field with prop and jets models.

When I started in 85 it was still the golden age of RC. We scratch built from plans or built wooden models from kits. The people that taught me to fly were WW2 veterans. They also taught me how to build. It was a different era and the camaraderie and friendships were amazing.

But that all started to change with ARFs. At first not so much but when the age of the electric airplane fully exploded onto the scene with foamy ARFs and RTF people stopped building. It was all about going fast, and instant gratification.

A few of us hung on and the old vets passed away bit by bit. They are mostly all gone and I miss them. So it all sort of lost its luster for me and I sold most of my RC planes off. I kept a few. But my field had become a mob of weekend warriors.

I wondered where this the builders and real wing nuts had gone. I started building free flight only to find they were still all alive and well building amazing flying machines, planes that didn’t need servos, radios, batteries and support equipment more than a stand and a winder. Ok maybe a few other items.But the pure marvel of it all is its basics. Model flight began this way. In fact full scale aviation started this was from stick and tissue models.

With all the drones, fast turbine RC jets and planes the public doesn’t take much notice to the free flight airplanes and I think that needs to change.

I have been in the film industry for over 40 years and worked on all kinds of movies. You’ve all probably seen my work at one time or another but didn’t realize it.

I have my own studio in Ventura California and one of my projects this year will be to make a film about this hobby so the public might learn about one of the more important aspects of the model airplane hobby. I plan to get it released on Netflix or Hulu so that it can be seen by thousands of people. Not just another amateur video on YouTube.To do this I plan to interview some of the best builders and flyers I can find in California. We will attend meets and interview flyers and show their planes flying.

I’m not doing this to make money either. As it is Netflix and the rest pay little for documentaries or indie films. It’s not about the money it’s about how important this hobby is and what it has inspired generations to do.

So many model aviators have contributed to the advancement of flight. And it all started with that little stick and tissue plane that flew its heart out.

The big question is where to find these people? I know about Lost Hills and the Grassy Null Squadron. It’s a start. I’ve met plenty of amazing folks online but few are on the West Coast or at least I haven’t found them yet.

Any help on this would be appreciated. I wish I had a real budget to travel and interview people all over this country but I don’t. But what I do have is good professional cameras, microphones, lights and one hell of an edit bay with the complete Adobe suite.

I want to make a real film. Not just a talking heads but something more cinematic with a good score and mood. I’d appreciate your input and direction.